A company that operates a marijuana-positive hotel in Phoenix has bought a property just off the famous Las Vegas Strip.
Las Vegas, really the whole state of Nevada, has been an odd place for cannabis operators. The state has legalized recreational marijuana, but it has never legalized consumption lounges.
That's not a problem for locals, who can consume their cannabis at home, but it has created a difficult situation for the many guests staying at hotels.
They can buy all sorts of cannabis products -- everything from edibles to vapes, and traditional smokeable versions of marijuana -- but if they opt for the smokeable variety, there's no actual legal place to smoke it.
Cannabis Consumption and Las Vegas
This, as you might imagine, has led to a lot of the Las Vegas Strip smelling like a Grateful Dead concert. The problem is that casino operators including MGM Resorts International (MGM) - Get MGM Resorts International Report, Caesars Entertainment (CZR) - Get Caesars Entertainment Inc Report, and Wynn (WYNN) - Get Wynn Resorts, Limited Report, which together control an awful lot of The Strip, don't want customers leaving their properties.
If, for example, Planet 13 (PLNHF) , the huge Las Vegas dispensary, added a consumption lounge, then its visitors might spend significantly more time at the dispensary. That's time they're not on the casino floor, eating in casino restaurants, or otherwise spending money with Caesars, MGM, Wynn, or any other big operator.
That's something that's expected to change soon as new legislation has been passed "giving recreational cannabis business owners the ability to apply for licenses to open on-site consumption lounges," Eater reported.
Source: The Street
